Ukrainian State

The National Sanctuary Complex "Sophia of Kyiv" (Ukrainian: Національний заповідник «Софія Київська») is a historic preserve that contains a complex of museums in Kyiv and Sudak and responsible for maintenance and preservation of some of its most precious historic sites.

The 1920 Kiev Offensive (or Kiev Expedition, wyprawa kijowska in Polish) was a major part of the Polish–Soviet War. It was an attempt by the armed forces of the recently established Second Polish Republic led by Józef Piłsudski, in alliance with Ukrainian leader Symon Petliura of the Ukrainian People's Republic, to seize the territories of modern-day Ukraine which mostly fell under Soviet control after the October Revolution as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.Polish and Soviet forces fought in 1919 and the Poles advanced in the disputed borderlands. In early 1920, Piłsudski concentrated on preparations for a military invasion of central Ukraine. It would result, he anticipated, in destruction of the Soviet armies and force Soviet acceptance of unilateral Polish conditions. The Poles signed an alliance, known as the Treaty of Warsaw, with the forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic led by Petliura. The Kiev Offensive was the central component of Piłsudski's plan for a new order in Eastern Europe centered around a Polish-led Intermarium federation. The stated goal of the operation was to create a formally independent Ukraine, although its dependence on Poland was inherent to Piłsudski's plans. Ukrainians ended up fighting on both sides of the conflict.The campaign was conducted from April to July 1920. The Polish Army faced the forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. At first, the war was successful for the allied Polish and Ukrainian armies, which captured Kiev (Kyiv) on 7 May 1920, but soon the campaign's progress was dramatically reversed due to a Red Army counter-offensive, in which the 1st Cavalry Army of Semyon Budyonny played a prominent part. In the wake of the Soviet advance, the short-lived Galician Soviet Socialist Republic was created. The Polish-Soviet War ended with the Peace of Riga of 1921, which settled the border between Poland and the Ukrainian Soviet Republic.

Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus' (Old East Slavic: Роусь, romanized: Rusĭ, or ро́усьскаѧ землѧ́, rusĭskaę zemlę; Old Norse: Garðaríki), was a state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century. Encompassing a variety of polities and peoples, including East Slavic, Norse, and Finnic, it was ruled by the Rurik dynasty, founded by the Varangian prince Rurik. The modern nations of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine all claim Kievan Rus' as their cultural ancestor, with Belarus and Russia deriving their names from it. At its greatest extent in the mid-11th century, Kievan Rus' stretched from the White Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south and from the headwaters of the Vistula in the west to the Taman Peninsula in the east, uniting the East Slavic tribes.According to the Primary Chronicle, the first ruler to start uniting East Slavic lands into what would become Kievan Rus' was Prince Oleg (r. 879–912). He extended his control from Novgorod south along the Dnieper river valley to protect trade from Khazar incursions from the east, and took control of the city of Kiev (Kyiv). Sviatoslav I (r. 943–972) achieved the first major territorial expansion of the state, fighting a war of conquest against the Khazars. Vladimir the Great (r. 980–1015) spread Christianity with his own baptism and, by decree, extended it to all inhabitants of Kiev and beyond. Kievan Rus' reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise (r. 1019–1054); his sons assembled and issued its first written legal code, the Russkaya Pravda, shortly after his death.The state began to decline in the late 11th century, gradually disintegrating into various rival regional powers throughout the 12th century. It was further weakened by external factors, such as the decline of the Byzantine Empire, its major economic partner, and the accompanying diminution of trade routes through its territory. It finally fell to the Mongol invasion in the mid-13th century, though the Rurik dynasty would continue to rule until the death of Feodor I of Russia in 1598.

Kuyaba (Arabic: كويابة Kūyāba) was one of the three centers of the Rus or Saqaliba (early East Slavs) described in a lost book by Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (dating from ca. 920) and mentioned in works by some of his followers (Ibn Hawqal, Al-Istakhri, Hudud ul-'alam). The two other centers were Slawiya (Arabic: صلاوية Ṣ(a)lāwiya) (tentatively identified with the land of Ilmen Slavs, see Rus' Khaganate) and Arthaniya (Arabic: ارثانية ’Arṯāniya) (not properly explained).Soviet historians such as Boris Grekov and Boris Rybakov hypothesized that "Kuyaba" was a mispronunciation of "Kyiv". They theorized that Kuyaba had been a union of Slavic tribes in the middle course of the Dnieper River centered on Kyiv (now in Ukraine). Kuyaba, Slawiya, and Artaniya later merged to form the state of Kyivan Rus, believed to include modern Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. This explanation has been adopted by modern Ukrainian historiography.

The Kyiv National Academic Molodyy Theatre (Ukrainian: Київський національний академічний Молодий театр) is a theatre in Kyiv in Ukraine. It was founded in 1979 and first played on 26 April 1980, with a focus on progressive productions. It is also known simply as Molodyy Theatre (Young Theatre), and addresses people "young in mind". It is a member of the European Theatre Convention, and became a national institution in 2019.

Prorizna Street (Ukrainian: Вулиця Прорізна) is a street located in central Kyiv, Ukraine. Prorizna Street is located between the Khreshchatyk and Volodymyrska Street. The first reference to the street was found on an 1848 Kyiv city map. It was originally named "Martynivska Street." In the 1850s, the street was also known under two additional names: Zolotokhreschenska and Prorizna. From 1863 to 1919, the street was officially named Vasylchykovska, after Kyiv General-Governor I.I.Vasylchikov. However, its current name, Prorizna, was also widely used. From 1919 until 1990, the street was named after Bolshevik leader Yakov Sverdlov. It was damaged in 1941 and remained ruined during the German occupation of Kyiv, from 1941 to 1943, being eventually restored after World War II. The street officially changed to its historical name, Prorizna, in 1990. Adjoining streets are: Pushkinska, Borysa Grinchenka and Patorzhinskogo. There is also another Prorizna Street in Kyiv, located in Kyiv's Bilychi suburb.

The Bell Tower of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv is a monument of Ukrainian architecture in the style of Ukrainian (Cossack) Baroque. It is one of the Ukrainian national symbols and symbols of the city of Kyiv.It was built in 1699–1706 at the expense of Hetman Ivan Mazepa. It was significantly rebuilt in 1744–1748 according to the design of Gottfried Johann Schädel, and in 1851–1852 the fourth tier was added according to the design of the diocesan architect Paul Sparro. The bell tower is vertically dominant in the Upper City or Old Kyiv. It is part of the National Reserve "Sophia of Kyiv."The tower has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under No. 527 (in the complex of monastic buildings of Saint Sophia). It is a monument of cultural heritage of national importance, protection number No. 1/2.The height of the bell tower is 76 meters.

Patriarch Volodymyr Romaniuk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate died on 14 July 1995. His funeral subsequently turned into a riot, popularly known as Black Tuesday (Ukrainian: чорний вівторок, romanized: chornyi vivtorok), after members of the Berkut special police force began attacking mourners, with members of the far-right Ukrainian People's Self-Defence attacking members of the security forces. It was the first incident of police attacking a peaceful gathering in the history of Ukraine since 1991.

Sophia Square or Sofia Square (Ukrainian: Софійська площа, romanized: Sofiiska ploshcha) is a square in the center of Old Kyiv, Ukraine. Located in the Shevchenkivskyi District of Kyiv, the square lies in front of Saint Sophia Cathedral, is bordered by Volodymyrska Street, and features a monument of Bohdan Khmelnytsky. The city's Christmas and New Year's festivities have been held in this square since 2014, after they were moved from Maidan Nezalezhnosti due to the events of Euromaidan.

The Golden Gate of Kyiv (Ukrainian: Золоті ворота, Zoloti vorota) was the main gate in the 11th century fortifications of Kiev (today Kyiv), the capital of Kievan Rus'. It was named in imitation of the Golden Gate of Constantinople. The structure was dismantled in the Middle Ages, leaving few vestiges of its existence. It was rebuilt completely by the Soviet authorities in 1982, though no images of the original gates have survived. The decision has been immensely controversial because there were many competing reconstructions of what the original gate might have looked like.The rebuilt structure on the corner of Volodymyr street and Yaroslaviv Val Street contains a branch of the National Sanctuary "Sophia of Kyiv" museum. The name Zoloti Vorota is also used for a nearby theater and the Zoloti Vorota station of the Kyiv Metro.

The Bohdan Khmelnytsky Monument (Ukrainian: Пам'ятник Богданові Хмельницькому) is a monument in Kyiv dedicated to Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the first Hetman of Zaporizhian Host. It was built in 1888 and is one of the oldest sculptural monuments. It is a dominating feature of Sophia Square and one of the city's symbols. The monument is located almost in the middle of the Sophia Square (formerly the main city's square) on the axis that unites both belltowers of the Sophia Cathedral and the St.Michael's Monastery. Here on 23 December 1648 residents of Kyiv met Khmelnytsky leading his Cossacks' regiments by entering the city through the Golden Gates soon after the victory over Polish Army at the battle of Pyliavtsi.

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, is an architectural monument of Kyivan Rus. The former cathedral is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the Kyiv Cave Monastery complex. Aside from its main building, the cathedral includes an ensemble of supporting structures such as a bell tower and the House of Metropolitan. In 2011 the historic site was reassigned from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. One of the reasons for the move was that both Saint Sophia Cathedral and Kyiv Pechersk Lavra are recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage Program as one complex, while in Ukraine the two were governed by different government entities. It is currently a museum. In Ukrainian the cathedral is known as Sobor Sviatoi Sofii (Собор Святої Софії) or Sofiiskyi sobor (Софійський собор). The complex of the cathedral is the main component and museum of the National Sanctuary "Sophia of Kyiv" which is the state institution responsible for the preservation of the cathedral complex as well as four other historic landmarks across the nation.